Experts in the medical and healthcare sector have called for stronger healthcare systems, backed by actionable strategies to bridge Nigeria’s medical and diagnostic gaps.
The call was made during the 3-day sub-regional healthcare trade, medicine, and innovation platform, tagged World Health Expo (WHX in Lagos 2026), formerly known as Medic West Africa, recently concluded in Lagos.
Akin Abayomi, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, while speaking on the future of medical technology, said Nigeria must prioritise the collection of clean, indigenous data to drive local technological innovation.
He highlighted the enforcement of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Act in Lagos State as a landmark regulatory milestone.
“This process moves the healthcare sector directly into the center of the economy,” Abayomi said.
The Act mandates health insurance for all residents, structuring the financial environment to guarantee medical protection across various socioeconomic levels.
“The government must establish the standards and trust that create an enabling environment for both demand and supply,” Abayomi said.
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Felix Ofungwu, CEO, ISN Medical, while speaking on the future of healthcare in Nigeria, said that without proper diagnosis, patients cannot have proper treatment.
According to him, ISN has been in the business of helping healthcare practitioners save lives by providing solutions that they need to diagnose their patients’ disease conditions.
“So for nearly half a century now, we’ve been in that business of providing the right diagnostic solutions to our customers,” Ofungwu said.
Ofungwu also disclosed that ISN Medical is currently working in the area of precision medicine and personalized medicine, and recently partnered with companies like Illumina, which is a global leader in gene sequencing and DNA sequencing.
“And using their technology and their solutions, we’re able to actually predict disease conditions even before symptoms start to show,” Ofungwu said.
Earlier in a keynote address, Aliko Ahmed, Special Regional Representative of the Director General of the Africa CDC Western Regional Coordinating Centre, reflected on the lessons learned from the Ebola and COVID-19 crises.
He noted that while these pandemics exposed severe vulnerabilities, they also revealed massive opportunities for Nigeria and Africa within the global health architecture, adding that external aid is entirely unsustainable for achieving long-term sovereignty.
Ahmed emphasised that the Africa CDC would prioritise building trust in locally manufactured healthcare products, and urged regional leaders to enact trade policies aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to shape the continental agenda.
The WHX Lagos 2026 featured accredited forums, cutting-edge product showcases, and high-level networking tracks designed to translate billions in public and private investment into immediate technology access for hospitals and patients.
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